There is a funny saying in football that ‘when you miss the ball, don’t miss the leg,’ but the case of Federico Allende, a defender for a lower-division club, Sport Pacifico in Argentina, has gone extremely far.

The defender on Sunday featured in a competition for his team Sport Pacifico against Estudiantes.

They won the match 3-2, knocking out their opponent in a major upset. Allende during the match used a needle to poke Colombian striker Juan Otero several times.

Allende in an interview with Vorterix Radio on Tuesday said “you need to play dirty” to beat big clubs like Estudiantes de La Plata.

The defender who seems very proud of what he did, went on to brag again.

“I kept piercing the Estudiantes strikers with a needle,” said the Pacifico defender.

“We know that top division players don’t like contact, they don’t like if we waste time or if we play dirty. So that was the way to do it. Football is like that. Football is for the clever,” Allende said.

Reacting to the shocking revelation, Pacifico’s president Hector Moncada vowed to expel the player.

“We are devastated. This incident has tarnished the team’s good work. I will expel him from the club,” Mr. Moncada told Clarín newspaper.

South American football expert, Tim Vickery told the BBC that Allende had hidden two needles in his shin guards. One broke but, when the referee was at the other end of the field, Allende used the other to poke Colombian striker Juan Otero several times.

It was also reported that Otero complained to the referee during the match but the referee failed to act. Otero simply described Allende as “a nasty man”.